1) “He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer” (5)
2) “There are a thousand and one gates allowing entry into the orchard of mystical truth. Every human being has his own gate. He must not err and wish to enter the orchard through a gate other than his own. That would present a danger not only for the one entering but also for those who are already inside’” (5)
3) “But people not only refused to believe his tales, they refused to listen. Some even insinuated that he only wanted their pity, that he was imagining things” (7)
Chapter Two and Three
Ross
1) "Deep down, I was saying good-bye to my father, to the whole universe, and, against my will, I found myself whispering his words; Yigsgadal, veyiskadash, shmey raba" (33)
2) "Suddenly, the silence became more oppressive. An SS officer had come in and, with him, the smell of the Angel of Death. We stared at his fleshy lips. He haranged us from the center of the barrack" (43)
3) I think the part that has interested the the most is how they were treated and the experience of the German camps, it helps you get a real idea of how horrible the camps were.
Grayson
1) When reading Ross' chosen quotes, I really enjoyed his second quote. To me, I didn't exactly see a deep meaning or passionate expression. What truly intrigued me was Elie's dark, hopeless details of the situation. When Elie Wiesel mentioned the silence, I tried to imagine myself there, with Elie, and I immediately knew what Elie was talking about.
Reading Notes
Read one other pair's wiki response page focusing on what they say has surprised/affected/etc. them the most. How does their response link to yours?
Matt and Dillon's response is very similar to our response in that both describe how the Nazis took control over the Jews and continued to treat them harshly. Like Matt said, the Jewish people were weak against the Nazis and gave no fight. Because of this, the Nazis could easily put the Jews within the camps and treat them as harshly as they wished.
Chapter Four
Grayson
"The camp looked as though it had been through an epidemic: empty and dead" (47).
Ross
I think this is a great description of the death camp, the sense of death and the fact that the camp almost seemed empty because of the people. The people would have known that people were being killed. It was almost like a cloud of not only death but despair was over the camp and I think Elie Weisel did a great job describing the place. The way he used imagery to show just how bad the place was when you were put into Birkenau. I think this is a very powerful description describing the life in the death camp.
I think the part that impacts me the most is at the very beginning when they are going through the death camp. The way he describes the powerful description of how his family was split up and he described the people around him. Scared not sure what to expect, and the German officers with their low toned few word voices.
Chapter 5
Ross
"His eyes were suddenly go blank, leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror" (76).
Grayson
I think that while Elie and Akiba both hoped for the mercy of death, they definitely had differences in their hopes. I think Akiba desired to die because he, much older than Elie, was wiser and came to realize he could not go on, for he was too weak and frail to have ever survived the camps. Elie says he wished Akiba had still considered the imprisonment to be God's judgement, but I think Akiba would have tried to keep believing this had he thought he was strong enough to survive his work, hunger, and pain. Elie though, like Akiba, was small, weak, and unimaginably tired, which I believe is why he almost dreamed of dying in the camps. However, I think the childish innocence and naivety that Elie, like so many other young kids, helped to always keep his hope and belief in God. In fact, I think what withered Akiba and supported Elie was possibly their biggest difference: their age.
Ross
"He was skin and bones, his eyes were dead. I could just hear his voice, the only indication that he was alive." (78)
Chapter Six and Seven
Grayson
"On the third night of our journey, I woke up with a start when I felt two hands on my throat, trying to strangle me. I barely had time to call out: 'Father!' Just that one word. I was suffocating. But my father had awakened and grabbed my aggressor" (102).
"'Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me... You're killing your father... I have bread... for you too... for you too...' He collapsed. But his fist was still clutching a small crust. He wanted to raise it to his mouth. But the other threw himself on him. The old man mumbled something, groaned, and died. Nobody cared. His son searched him, took the crust of bread, and began to devour it" (101).
Ross
The father son relationship is very important, in some cases it can be too much of a burden, you have to feed him and care for him just like yourself. An extra man to look after, his son must have thought it was too much of a burden to care for him. And he needed to live more than he thought his father needed to live. So he killed him and took the food for himself. In Elie case his father was the only reason he was alive. His father saved him from the strangling man and Elie saved his father. In the end the father son relationship his very crucial and interesting in Nazi concentration and death camps.
Chapter Eight and Nine
Grayson
It is almost impossible to choose a specific point in the book, as it is even harder to believe that such a massacre was possible at all. I think though that Elie Wiesel’s chapter about the “Death March” affected me the most. “An icy wind was blowing violently. But we marched without faltering. The SS made us increase our pace. ‘Faster, you tramps, you flea-ridden dogs’…” (85). I think the chapter showed Nazi brutality, prisoner suffering, and loss of soul and love for others, all aspects of the Holocaust.
Ross
If I had to pick one paragraph/quote from the book it would be when Elie first got to the camp. The night when he got out of the train at midnight and saw the flames and the smell of death. People getting abused and taken away. People getting in line waiting to get taken to some unknown place. His scared thoughts not knowing what to expect and getting told to tell the guard he is 20 not 18. He sees his mom and sister getting split up from the family as he goes through the line and lies to the guard.
Our Final Responses
Ross
I think what Elie Weisel is trying to say is that you shouldn't hate someone for what they believe in or the way they look.You should care for life because life is special it is rare and he trying to make you realize how important life is. During the holocaust people realized just how important life is. And what it means to lose your soul. To wish that you are dead, and Elie Weisel is trying to teach us this message so it will not happen again in the future.
Grayson
I believe Elie Wiesel said this to show the necessity of soul and emotion for feelings. Every day, people share love, hate, jealousy, and happiness, among countless other things, all because feelings come naturally. But, after reading Night, it was easy for me to piece together what Elie said. These natural feelings are allowed by the the things that make everyone who they: family, friends, thought, reason, etc. As cheesy as it may sound, characteristics of the mind and body stand for how we feel, but physical aspects give us things to love.
Ross (B)
Chapter One
1) “He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer” (5)
2) “There are a thousand and one gates allowing entry into the orchard of mystical truth. Every human being has his own gate. He must not err and wish to enter the orchard through a gate other than his own. That would present a danger not only for the one entering but also for those who are already inside’” (5)
3) “But people not only refused to believe his tales, they refused to listen. Some even insinuated that he only wanted their pity, that he was imagining things” (7)
Chapter Two and Three
1) "Deep down, I was saying good-bye to my father, to the whole universe, and, against my will, I found myself whispering his words; Yigsgadal, veyiskadash, shmey raba" (33)
2) "Suddenly, the silence became more oppressive. An SS officer had come in and, with him, the smell of the Angel of Death. We stared at his fleshy lips. He haranged us from the center of the barrack" (43)
3) I think the part that has interested the the most is how they were treated and the experience of the German camps, it helps you get a real idea of how horrible the camps were.
1) When reading Ross' chosen quotes, I really enjoyed his second quote. To me, I didn't exactly see a deep meaning or passionate expression. What truly intrigued me was Elie's dark, hopeless details of the situation. When Elie Wiesel mentioned the silence, I tried to imagine myself there, with Elie, and I immediately knew what Elie was talking about.
Reading Notes
Chapter Four
I think this is a great description of the death camp, the sense of death and the fact that the camp almost seemed empty because of the people. The people would have known that people were being killed. It was almost like a cloud of not only death but despair was over the camp and I think Elie Weisel did a great job describing the place. The way he used imagery to show just how bad the place was when you were put into Birkenau. I think this is a very powerful description describing the life in the death camp.
I think the part that impacts me the most is at the very beginning when they are going through the death camp. The way he describes the powerful description of how his family was split up and he described the people around him. Scared not sure what to expect, and the German officers with their low toned few word voices.
Chapter 5
Chapter Six and Seven
The father son relationship is very important, in some cases it can be too much of a burden, you have to feed him and care for him just like yourself. An extra man to look after, his son must have thought it was too much of a burden to care for him. And he needed to live more than he thought his father needed to live. So he killed him and took the food for himself. In Elie case his father was the only reason he was alive. His father saved him from the strangling man and Elie saved his father. In the end the father son relationship his very crucial and interesting in Nazi concentration and death camps.
Chapter Eight and Nine
Our Final Responses